The tompot blenny (Parablennius gattorugine) is a species of combtooth blenny from the north eastern Atlantic Ocean which is found in shallow, coastal waters off western Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Description
The tompot blenny is a relatively large blenny with an elongated body, large head and large eyes which grows to up to in length. The eyes are bicoloured with their top part being brown and the bottom part is white. As well as the tentacles over the eyes there are also tentacles over the nostrils. The lateral line is continuous but becomes broken towards the tail. The breeding males become chocolate brown in colour and develop bulb-like glands on the spines of the anal fin. The dorsal fin runs the length of its body and is divided into two halves by a shallow notch. The anterior portion of the fin is contains the spiny rays while the posterior portion contains the soft rays. It has relatively large pectoral fins.
Distribution
The tompot blenny is found along the Atlantic coast of Europe from southern England and Ireland to Morocco. and off eastern Scotland as far north as the Shetland Islands. such as prawns and other crustaceans. They are crepuscular, being active mainly at dawn and at dusk. Its biology is unknown.
thumb|Parablennius gattorugine
Breeding
Tompot blennies spawn in March to May the males mate with a number of females and guards their eggs. The eggs are demersal and like those of all blennies they stick to the substrate by a filamentous adhesive patch. The male guards the eggs until the larvae hatch, usually about a month after laying.